http://www.drfrugal.com/ Collection of articles covering frugality in daily living. Also offers articles as they pertain to frugality and personal finance. Verizon has recently launched a new campaign to boost their already-beloved FIOS service to new areas. In addition to hubs in Baltimore and Boston, their DSL service is now going to be available even further west. Their running a number of advertised special offers but you're better off going off-site and checking out some of the bigger coupon sites for a Verizon promotion code. Some of the current Verizon promo codes are offering up to $120 off new subscriptions and I can tell you first-hand that FIOS is absolutely blazing fast so go spend some money and get it. http://www.drfrugal.com/324/ http://www.drfrugal.com/324/ http://www.drfrugal.com/323/ http://www.drfrugal.com/323/ And I thought I was having a rough morning. Wall Street is absolutely taking on the news of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy. At well over 600 billion dollars, it's the largest bankruptcy ever. Bank of America is about to buy Merrill Lynch too. This is why I'm not the president of BoA--I would not think this is a great idea. Somehow my company has weathered the storm for the most part and I'm aware it's a buyers market but I think this is just inviting disaster. Well, more disaster. http://www.drfrugal.com/322/ http://www.drfrugal.com/322/ Ok, the Republican Party just lost my vote. I had fully intended on voting for McCain but now that Sarah Palin could be the next president, I guess Obama/Biden will get my vote. Sarah Palin is such an idiot--she knows nothing about nothing (except how to raise her kids like poor beltway kids: one in the military and the other pregnant-and-under-18). I guess that's why they picked her; if that's what America really is. I want no part of that. I can't believe I'm going to vote blue but she's a deal-breaker. http://www.drfrugal.com/321/ http://www.drfrugal.com/321/ It was just a matter of time before Fannie and Freddie were bailed out by the US Government. With on-hand cash available from anywhere from $1b to $200b I think they'll be ok. I can tell you this--if I had anywhere between $1b and $200b I could really get things started. I think it's a fine move since half of all mortgages are backed by these two companies but at the same time I'm not entirely clear where the line is drawn for governmental bailouts. How big exactly do you have to be before Uncle Sam steps in to slap you on the wrist and give you a big wad of cash? http://www.drfrugal.com/320/ http://www.drfrugal.com/320/ Every now and then it's cool to live in DC because we get news first. Like E-Gold being found guilt of Money Laundering... WASHINGTON – E-Gold Ltd., (E-Gold) an Internet-based digital currency business, and its three principal directors and owners, pleaded guilty to criminal charges relating to money laundering and the operation of an illegal money transmitting business, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich for the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today. E-Gold and its corporate affiliate Gold & Silver Reserve Inc. each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. The principal director of E-Gold and CEO of Gold & Silver Reserve Inc. (Gold & Silver Reserve), Dr. Douglas Jackson, 51, of Melbourne, Fla., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. E-Gold’s other two senior directors, Barry Downey, 48, of Baltimore, and Reid Jackson, 45, of Melbourne, each pleaded guilty to felony violations of District of Columbia law relating to operating a money transmitting business without a license. E-Gold, Gold & Silver Reserve and the three company directors were charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on April 24, 2007. At sentencing, E-Gold and Gold & Silver Reserve face a maximum fine of $3.7 million. Douglas Jackson faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine of $500,000 on the conspiracy to engage in money laundering charge, and a sentence of five years and a fine of $250,000 on the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business charge. Downey and Reid Jackson each face a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of $25,000. Additionally, as part of the plea, E-Gold and Gold & Silver Reserve have agreed to forfeiture in the amount of $1.75 million in the form of a money judgment for which they are joint and severally liable. Sentencing for all defendants has been set for Nov. 20, 2008. In addition to the fines and prison sentences, each of the defendants agreed that E-Gold and Gold & Silver Reserve will move to fully comply with all applicable federal and state laws relating to operating as a licensed money transmitting business and the prevention of money laundering which includes registering as money service businesses. Also as part of the plea agreement, the businesses will create a comprehensive money laundering detection program that will require verified customer identification, suspicious activity reporting and regular supervision by the Internal Revenue Services’ (IRS) Bank Secrecy Act Division, to which the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network delegated authority according to federal regulations. E-Gold and Gold & Silver Reserve will hire a consultant to ensure their compliance with applicable law and hire an auditor to verify the companies’ claims that all transactions are fully backed by gold bullion. Under federal law and District of Columbia law, in addition to other jurisdictions, the E-Gold operation was required to be licensed and registered as a money transmitting business. However, according to information in plea materials, the E-Gold operation functioned as a money transmitting business without registering with the federal government and without a license in the District of Columbia. Because these businesses and individuals illegally failed to register and follow applicable regulations under federal and District of Columbia laws, the resulting lack of oversight and required procedures created an atmosphere where criminals could use “e-gold”, or digital currency, essentially anonymously to further their illegal activities. Specifically, according to information contained in plea materials, the E-Gold operation provided digital currency services over the Internet through two sites: www.e-gold.com and www.Omnipay.com. Several characteristics of the E-Gold operation made it attractive to users engaged in criminal activity, such as not requiring users to provide their true identity, or any specific identity. The E-Gold operation continued to allow accounts to be opened without verification of user identity, despite knowing that “e-gold” was being used for criminal activity, including child exploitation, investment scams, credit card fraud and identity theft. In addition, E-Gold assigned employees with no prior relevant experience to monitor hundreds of thousands of accounts for criminal activity. They also participated in designing a system that expressly encouraged users whose criminal activity had been discovered to transfer their criminal proceeds among other “e-gold” accounts. Unlike other Internet payment systems, the E-Gold operation did not include any statement in its user agreement prohibiting the use of “e-gold” for criminal activity. “By failing to comply with money laundering laws and regulations, the E-Gold operation created an environment ripe for exploitation by criminals seeking anonymity in conducting online transactions,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich. “This case demonstrates that online payment systems must operate according to the applicable rules and regulations created to ensure lawful monetary transactions.” “The operations of E-Gold, Ltd. and the other defendants undermined the laws designed to maintain the integrity of our financial system and created opportunities for criminal activity,” said U.S. Attorney Taylor. “Because of the successful prosecution of these defendants, digital currency providers everywhere are now on notice that they must comply with federal banking laws or they will be subject to prosecution.” “The Secret Service is pleased with the successful outcome of the E-gold investigation,” said U.S. Secret Service Assistant Director for Investigations Michael Stenger. “This case demonstrated that even the most sophisticated criminals cannot escape the combined resources of the Secret Service and our law enforcement partners. The Secret Service is committed to our mission of safeguarding the nation’s critical financial infrastructure and we will continue to pursue criminals seeking to use the Internet and new technologies to commit crimes.” The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Haray of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Senior Counsel Kimberly Kiefer Peretti of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Laurel Loomis Rimon, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, with assistance from the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. William Cowden of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Asset Forfeiture Unit assisted with forfeiture issues involved in the case. http://www.drfrugal.com/319/ http://www.drfrugal.com/319/ There's been some speculation that none other than Condoleezza Rice is eying the vice president spot in the Republican party. I never really cared for her because I thought she had no backbone. If we knew conclusively that John McCain would live out every day of his potential term and there was a 0% chance she'd be president I'd be ok with her as VP--she's a great panderer and is totally spineless. She's also good at doing what her superiors say and would be handy to fetch Dunkin Donuts coffee in the Oval Office. However, I see future meetings with say, Hugo Chavez, going something like this: Chavez: "Madame President, since we are the superior country we command you immediately cede Texas and Puerto Rico to us." Rice: "Ok, whatever you want. I don't want any trouble." http://www.drfrugal.com/318/ http://www.drfrugal.com/318/ This is a follow-up that seemed timely in light of this article in The Independent claiming that we're experiencing the Great Depression 2008 build. I still don't believe it even though the Drudge Reports posts news stories like 1 in 5 Ohioans on Welfare! and 1 out of 3 West Virginia families receive food stamps!. I think most people are pessimistic by nature and even if they're personally not experiencing any problems (other than high gas prices, falling value of their homes) they're so quick to scream "Great Depression 2" that it incites that same panic in everyone around them. Before totally freaking out consider this: is your home *really* worth less than you paid for it? If it is, did it ever occur to you that it's YOUR fault for buying it when you did? Everyone is so quick to blame everyone else for their problems that individual responsibility is often overlooked. I could have easily bought a house three years ago but did I really want to pay $300k for a house that I *knew* was $200k? Of course not, so I continued renting. Moreover, I have no plans to stop renting until I find a house that's actually listed for what it's worth and not some ungodly number being sold by someone desperate to make a profit because they overpaid; not my problem. http://www.drfrugal.com/317/ http://www.drfrugal.com/317/ Would you want this in your city? Yikes, I wouldn't. I don't have a problem with civilian "report takers" for the fire department but when you're talking about having non-sworn civilians replacing offers to "respond to burglaries" I think you're just inviting trouble. If my house were burglarized and someone in a "polo shirt" showed up to help me I would feel even more at risk. I realize times are tough and everyone is cutting back (including our cities) but maybe adding to the police and fire departments with people like you and me isn't the most cost-effective measure. http://www.drfrugal.com/316/ http://www.drfrugal.com/316/ Remember when Google's stock was waaaaay up there? It's down now because its click-through rate is stagnant. Well duh--people are finally learning that the ads (see the one above this entry) aren't really all that relevant in most cases. Yes, they're relevant to the topic--Google is great at that, but the quality of the sites that advertise in those spots can be so low that people (yes, people I know) go out of their way NOT to click on them. Big shocker, I know. In other news, how happy was Yahoo to post that story? http://www.drfrugal.com/315/ http://www.drfrugal.com/315/